Grantor: MŠMT
Project number: LUAUS26002
Investigator for FLD: doc. Ing. Jan Stejskal, Ph.D.
Contact person: doc. Ing. Jan Stejskal, Ph.D., stejskalj@fld.czu.cz
Implementation period: 03/2026 – 12/2029
Global climate change poses a significant threat to the adaptation of forest tree species to extreme conditions, which are increasingly occurring in forest ecosystems. This places much greater demands (e.g., preserving genetic diversity, maintaining forest resilience) on traditional forestry as well as on related fields such as forest genetics, tree breeding, and silviculture. The objective of the proposed project, implemented through international multidisciplinary collaboration, is to develop a method that utilizes spectral and geometric data to identify functional leaf traits in the context of crown architecture and the genetic background of populations. This approach will not only enable effective acceleration of tree breeding but also provide a deeper understanding of tree stress responses in natural forest environments. Algorithms will be developed for 3D reconstruction of tree geometry from precise data such as point clouds and RGB images. Subsequently, digital twins of trees will be created, enabling the modeling of the growth and morphology of trees under stress, from the juvenile stage to the production age. In follow-up, a prototype platform for high-throughput phenotyping will be developed, using 3D geometry and multispectral directional reflectance to assess the physiological state and genetic diversity of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies). The prototype will be tailored to the practical needs of seedling phenotyping in forestry applications.
The project was supported by the INTER-EXCELLENCE II Programme.
